Hey Bubba,
so you or a neighbor have some footage of a suspicious creep wandering around the alley, or maybe committing an actual break in. Now what? There are ways you can maximize the chances that your footage will result in this scumbag taking his next meal and a possible intimate relationship with a large man named “sister” courtesy of a local prison. Here are 3 things to do with that home security camera footage:
Community Facebook page sends out crime alerts, many gathered from home security camera footage.
1. Take it to the police. Duh, right? But here’s the tip: If you live in an area covered by multiple law enforcement agencies or a huge urban agency, see if there is a community police program. A lot of cities and counties have specific programs that locate sub-stations and patrol offices in suburbs, strip malls, or in local business centers. Sometimes these local businesses actually donate some offices to law enforcement so they can have a handful of cops parking in their lot or walking around their property 24 hours a day! Other areas have law enforcement managed neighborhood watch programs that are often subsidized by civic association and subdivision dues. The benefit? If you take it to take it to a large city-wide or county-wide police dept., it’s likely to get thrown on a stack of other complaints, problems, and suspects. If you can find the local patrol office that actually walks your area beat, chances are much more in your favor that your scumbag will get caught. The other resource that you have here is CrimeStoppers. If your area has a Crimestoppers program, they will not only help you spread the word, they’ll offer a reward for capture of the dirtball.
2. Send it off to your newspaper and TV station. Radio doesn’t hurt either, especially if they have a web page w/ local news stories. TV stations are eager to show sensational crime footage, or more to the point, REAL crime footage. Most reporters I know will tell you that they’re rather show an actual criminal caught in the act than read a half dozen stories ABOUT crime, with no visuals. Newspaper and community news websites similarly love to have visual content, and your neighbors and fellow citizens are eager to help catch a thief.
3. Get on the social media bandwagon. Most communities have facebook pages, some have hundreds. Again, find the one or ones that are most local to your specific area. In the last couple weeks in the
Facebook posting of security camera footage.
Houston area, there has been a “Doggy Door Burglar” AND a restaurant burglar. In one, a thief was making rounds with an accomplice getting into homes through doggie doors. One bubba simply put out a wildlife game camera with a motion sensor, and captured the guy busting through his house. The Houston Chronicle picked up the footage as did a couple TV stations once it was posted on facebook. In an unrelated series of crimes, a restaurant was busted into by a guy with a crowbar. He just smashed in the front door. The restaurant only had 30 bucks in the cash register, but a smashed front door will set the owners back about a grand. Security camera footage like this goes more viral than nekkid pictures, we promise. Both these crooks were ID’ed and eventually caught. News like this spreads like wildfire; just making the entire community aware makes it difficult for a photographed suspect to go unnoticed.
Ask any attorney how hard it is to mount a defense when the prosecutor has home security camera footage of a suspect committing the crime! It’s a slam dunk, Bubba.
UPDATE: So a mere two weeks after this video was posted to social media sites, released to the local media, etc.. the suspect confessed to the crime, ANOTHER crime in the same neighborhood, and will go to jail for seven years. Get a security camera. really.
